[The1Signature]

JAPAN AUDIO SOCIETY APPROVES A NEW TECHNOLOGY FROM MQA
SCL6 Receives ‘Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS’ Certification​

Japan Audio Society (JAS) the internationally respected audio research organisation, has certified MQA Ltd’s new scalable codec, for use with its Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS logo. This new codec carries the technical name of SCL6 and is coming to market as MQair.

Wireless devices account for a large segment of music listening over headphones, earbuds, and wireless speakers*. In many devices, audio quality has been sacrificed for the convenience of Bluetooth connectivity.

MQair delivers detail and clarity by focussing on the time domain – a critical factor in the human perception of high-resolution sound. This fresh perspective enables an exceptional audio experience and responds to rising consumer demand for better wireless sound. The technology supports both MQA and PCM audio up to 384kHz, and the encoded data rate can be scaled seamlessly from 20Mbps to below 200kbps, covering Bluetooth, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) and WiFi links. It offers low latency and high efficiency for extended battery life.

MQair, powered by SCL6, means the listener need not sacrifice quality for convenience.

Bob Stuart, MQA Founder & CTO commented, “We are very honoured that JAS has certified SCL6 for use with its Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS logo. This latest technology is born of our passion for the highest sound quality and an understanding that such quality brings us closer to the music. With MQair we can improve the listening experience for many listeners and extend the MQA ecosystem to wireless devices. High resolution isn’t necessarily defined by the big things – it is shaped by small elements in the sound that convey details, separation, colour and space. Our reference for transparency is air itself. We are excited to use these insights in the design of MQair to bring a more enjoyable experience to audio fans and music lovers everywhere.”

Link

 

[71 dB]

Hi-res is snake oil targeted to those who don't understand digital audio. MQA is problematic, because of the licences and control.

 

[The1Signature]

Hi-res audio on käärmeöljyä, jolla yritetään lypsää rahaa ihmisiltä, joilla ei ole kunnollista digitaalisen audiotekniikan ymmärrystä. Toisekseen nämä MQA-viritykset ovat kuluttajien kannalta ongelma, kun tekniikka on lisenssien takana jonkun tietyn firman kontrollissa, mutta ihmisten kontroloimisesta ja lypsämisestähän kaikessa tässä onkin kyse. Fiksut tietävät ihmiset pysyvät kaukana.

english, please. i did a google translation for other head-fiers:

Hi-res audio is snake oil trying to milk money from people who don't have a proper understanding of digital audio technology. Secondly, these MQA tunings are a problem from the point of view of consumers, when the technology behind the licenses is under the control of a certain company, but controlling and milking people is what this is all about. Smart people who know stay away.

 

[71 dB]

english, please. i did a google translation for other head-fiers:

Sorry, I accidently wrote in Finnish. Silly me. I didn't even realize. I changed the message to English.

That said, the google translation is spot on! Google translator is really good these days!

 

[drhonk]

I don't use MQA but I think this could be a good thing for Bluetooth audio.

 

[71 dB]

I don't use MQA but I think this could be a good thing for Bluetooth audio.

What problem does it fix in Bluetooth audio? I don't use Bluetooth audio myself so I don't know how bad it sounds.

 

[bigshot]

Aside from the vague reference to "time domain" their description of this new format sounds remarkably similar to MP3 or AAC or any other compressed format. Who wants to bet that the format comes along with nice fat licensing fees?

"Our reference for transparency is air itself." ...yeah, right. Hot air, perhaps.

Bluetooth, for those who don't use it, is already capable of achieving audible transparency.

 

[Roseval]

Hot air

That is where MQA excels...

 

[castleofargh]

JAS is basically Sony. This news would probably read the same saying Sony will yet again use some annoying and proprietary stuff.

 

[gregorio]

“Our reference for transparency is air itself.” - B Stuart

Oh my lord, why on earth would you reference transparency to air? Air is horribly non-transparent! Not only does it absorb sound to the tune of halving the amount of sound per doubling the amount of air but in addition it damps mid/high frequencies even more than that.

For example depending on humidity, 6kHz is reduced by 14.5dB/100m and 12kHz by 34.2dB/100m and this is in addition to the 6dB loss across the entire frequency spectrum per doubling of distance (air)!

Does MQAir really reference air, and if so, why would you design something to be so much worse than every other solution already available, OR, is this just an outright lie aimed at those who don’t know how air attenuates sound? I’ll leave it to the reader to make up their mind!

G

 

[GoldenSound]